Jack White – Blunderbuss
Album Review by Claudia Boisvert
Running around since 1997, The White Stripes has been taking a huge part of the music industry, releasing 6 albums through the years and changing the face of punk rock. However, professional success does not always mean personal satisfaction : therefore the duet announced their separation earlier last year. Although the singer Jack White formed in parallel two bands (The Raconteurs & The Dead Weather), April 24th marks the beginning of a real solo career with the release of his debut album : Blunderbuss.
Being already known for a long time, but only as a part of a band (or doing some collaborations), Jack White got some pressure and expectations from his previous fans. Overall, I’d say Blunderbuss is a great album, leading to a pleasant listening. But I think there was a little something special with The White Stripes that we lost with those new pieces, taking away the genius of their former band to produce yes good music, but nothing more. Of course we wouldn’t want Jack White to sound exactly the same as he used to in a band, that’d be kinda weird, so in a way it is fun to hear White’s own style.
Blunderbuss starts off with “Missing Pieces”, a track well representing the whole record with its light and changing beat. The same atmosphere is giving to most songs, with maybe a few changes in the melodies but still the same tone overall. I mostly got hooked on “Freedom at 21” and “Weep Themselves to Sleep”, both having those catchy rhythm (and great guitar solos!). “Sixteen Saltines” is the only track harsher, reminding me of The White Stripes stuff. It was also released earlier this April, featuring a video content not always super cute and innocent – but still very good !
There are also more sweet and calm tracks such as “Love Interruption” or “Blunderbuss”, digging a little the country style, while “On and On and On” is almost indie rock. Those songs are quite apart from the rest of the record, though “Love Interruption” was the first single released (before “Sixteen Saltines”, which is a totally different style). It’s featuring the singer Ruby Amanfu (from Nashville), and their duet created a song quickly becoming my favorite.
The whole album left me with this impression that Jack White knows what he’s doing, which is probably true because time has given him a long musical experience. Being totally on his own sure is a great change, and I don’t think this first album solo is a disappointment. But then, it’s up to you, old The White Stipes fans, to learn to love this new artist or not!
Overall Rating: 4/5
Website: http://jackwhiteiii.com/
